Day 21: Risk Factor Summary
Over the past twenty days we have been discussing some of the main risk factors for developing the number one killing disease for both sexes, heart disease. We believe that the information provided during these days can be invaluable for your health. Without education, positive change only occurs by accident.
This information will be more important for some than others. Today we want to isolate which group you are in. It’s fairly easy to do that with a combination of simple at home tests and an inexpensive blood test from your doctor that covers all the main markers for heart disease.
Part One: You will want to answer the following 10 questions.
1. Do you have a direct, male family member under 55, within 2 generations of you, or a direct, female family member under 65, within 2 generations of you, that has suffered from heart disease? Score one point for YES.
2. Are you a man who is over 45 or are a post menopausal woman? Score one point for YES.
3. Are you more than 10 pounds overweight? Score one point for YES.
4. Do you exercise more than 20 minutes a day, 4 days a week? Score one point for NO.
5. Do you floss daily and get your teeth cleaned professionally every six months? Score one point for NO.
6. Do you smoke? Score one point for YES
7. Do you have 2 or more drinks more than once a week? Score one point for YES.
8. Is your resting heart rate as measured by a blood pressure cuff, heart rate monitor or wrist pulse above 85? Score one point for YES.
9. Is your blood pressure 130/90 or above? Score one point for YES.
10. During the cold pressor test for stress reactive personalities did your blood pressure raise 15 points or more following immersion. Score one point for YES.
If you scored 3 or above then you need to understand that you are in the higher risk group for developing heart disease. You will definitely want to read the information we provide tomorrow which is intended to help you reverse the processes that have put you into risk and deliver you a happier, healthier future.
If you scored below three points, that is great – for now. The next trip to your physician for a physical you will want to ask him to take blood and run the following tests:
1. Fasting Glucose Level: Is it above 100? Score one point for YES.
2. Fasting Insulin Level: Is it above 5? Score one point for YES.
3. Hemoglobin A1c. Is it above 5.8? Score one point for YES.
4. Homocysteine Level: Is it above 9? Score one point for YES.
5. C-reactive protein (CRP) Level. Is your level above 1.5? Score one point for YES.
6. VAP Lipid Profile Test: Score one point for any measure of cholesterol that falls outside the normal range.
7. Triglyceride Level: Is your level above 100? Score one point for YES.
8. Blood Fatty Acid Test: Score one point for any fatty acid measure that falls outside the normal range.
9. Serum ferritin and iron binding capacity tests: Score one point for a higher than normal level on either of these tests.
10. Thyroid function tests free T3, free T4 and TSH. Score one point if any of these tests come back lower than normal.
Now add the total score from the first ten questions to the total score of your blood tests. If you have 3 or more points total, you are in the high risk group for heart disease and will want to pay careful attention to tomorrow’s information.
Final optional test. Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CAC): If your physician tells you that you are testing outside the normal limit here, you will want to add one point to your total score.
The higher your total, in general, the more at risk you are for heart disease. Tomorrow we will discuss what exactly this means and what you can do to improve your score immediately.
Over the past twenty days we have been discussing some of the main risk factors for developing the number one killing disease for both sexes, heart disease. We believe that the information provided during these days can be invaluable for your health. Without education, positive change only occurs by accident.
This information will be more important for some than others. Today we want to isolate which group you are in. It’s fairly easy to do that with a combination of simple at home tests and an inexpensive blood test from your doctor that covers all the main markers for heart disease.
Part One: You will want to answer the following 10 questions.
1. Do you have a direct, male family member under 55, within 2 generations of you, or a direct, female family member under 65, within 2 generations of you, that has suffered from heart disease? Score one point for YES.
2. Are you a man who is over 45 or are a post menopausal woman? Score one point for YES.
3. Are you more than 10 pounds overweight? Score one point for YES.
4. Do you exercise more than 20 minutes a day, 4 days a week? Score one point for NO.
5. Do you floss daily and get your teeth cleaned professionally every six months? Score one point for NO.
6. Do you smoke? Score one point for YES
7. Do you have 2 or more drinks more than once a week? Score one point for YES.
8. Is your resting heart rate as measured by a blood pressure cuff, heart rate monitor or wrist pulse above 85? Score one point for YES.
9. Is your blood pressure 130/90 or above? Score one point for YES.
10. During the cold pressor test for stress reactive personalities did your blood pressure raise 15 points or more following immersion. Score one point for YES.
If you scored 3 or above then you need to understand that you are in the higher risk group for developing heart disease. You will definitely want to read the information we provide tomorrow which is intended to help you reverse the processes that have put you into risk and deliver you a happier, healthier future.
If you scored below three points, that is great – for now. The next trip to your physician for a physical you will want to ask him to take blood and run the following tests:
1. Fasting Glucose Level: Is it above 100? Score one point for YES.
2. Fasting Insulin Level: Is it above 5? Score one point for YES.
3. Hemoglobin A1c. Is it above 5.8? Score one point for YES.
4. Homocysteine Level: Is it above 9? Score one point for YES.
5. C-reactive protein (CRP) Level. Is your level above 1.5? Score one point for YES.
6. VAP Lipid Profile Test: Score one point for any measure of cholesterol that falls outside the normal range.
7. Triglyceride Level: Is your level above 100? Score one point for YES.
8. Blood Fatty Acid Test: Score one point for any fatty acid measure that falls outside the normal range.
9. Serum ferritin and iron binding capacity tests: Score one point for a higher than normal level on either of these tests.
10. Thyroid function tests free T3, free T4 and TSH. Score one point if any of these tests come back lower than normal.
Now add the total score from the first ten questions to the total score of your blood tests. If you have 3 or more points total, you are in the high risk group for heart disease and will want to pay careful attention to tomorrow’s information.
Final optional test. Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CAC): If your physician tells you that you are testing outside the normal limit here, you will want to add one point to your total score.
The higher your total, in general, the more at risk you are for heart disease. Tomorrow we will discuss what exactly this means and what you can do to improve your score immediately.
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